Travelling to the US without medical insurance...

[ianrauk]

You recon? they refused to treat my friend.

It's against US law not to treat you. If it's an emergency they will take you to hospital where you will get treatment. If you don't have medical insurance (either as a US citizen or a foreigner) you will transferred immediately to a walfare hospital. You will get treatment even if you can't pay. They will then pursue you to get paid. What you then do is buy insurance whilst you are there. This is much more expensive and will cover you for treatment once you have paid but not for any treatment that has already been given

If your friend was refused treatment then he/she was given the wrong advice as to how to deal with it. They do not let people die.

 

[jonny jeez]

am i mad?

Check your bank account, mine provides free international travel insurance along with a bunch of other freebies that are really useful.

 

[Bromptonaut]

Met a chap last week. Holidaying and insured but was engaging in high jinks when he fell and broke a wrist. Insurer deemed him to be engaging in risky behaviour and washed their hands. Wrist pinned under anaesthetic, less than 48hrs in hospital.

Bill well north of $50k and now in hands of UK debt collectors.

 

[MontyVeda]

The potential cost of insurance is one reason... a slight mistrust of insurance companies is another (i.e. Bromptonaught's post above).

I haven't checked the costs yet, but if it's cheap (under £50) I'll get it, if it's expensive (over £100) i'll probably risk it. I'm not in the habit of doing owt daft and injuring myself, have no particular conditions, allergies or intolerances, and don't have a great deal of money so spend on something i'm very likely to not need.

 

[TheDoctor]

My policy was for a year, unlimited trips including skiing, worldwide with pre-existing conditions.
Just over a ton.

 

[screenman]

The potential cost of insurance is one reason... a slight mistrust of insurance companies is another (i.e. Bromptonaught's post above).

I haven't checked the costs yet, but if it's cheap (under £50) I'll get it, if it's expensive (over £100) i'll probably risk it. I'm not in the habit of doing owt daft and injuring myself, have no particular conditions, allergies or intolerances, and don't have a great deal of money so spend on something i'm very likely to not need.

I think you will find the insurers acted correctly, I do not want my premiums to rise because the insurers are paying out too that not abiding by the rules.

Go for it, what can possible go wrong. My son did the same and his appendix went pop, luckily he was only in France.

 

[MontyVeda]

Check your bank account, mine provides free international travel insurance along with a bunch of other freebies that are really useful.

That's really good advice... it doesn't.

 

[jonny jeez]

That's really good advice... it doesn't.

Oh well.

 

[slowmotion]

My policy was for a year, unlimited trips including skiing, worldwide with pre-existing conditions.
Just over a ton.

It very much depends on what the pre-existing conditions are. I have a similar policy but just for Europe and its nearly double that.

 

[Cuchilo]

The unexpected can happen and i know of two people that have had this happen while in the states .
First was a band , 7 piece swing jive band that ended up in a car crash . Sophie Garner and her swing kings if you want to youtube them ( they are rather good )
Paul , the trumpet player and always full of life ended up with brain damage from the crash and Sophie ( his wife ) had to sell her house to pay the bills and get him back home .
The second was my Father who was out there doing a lecture . He had a brain tumor that decided to show its self while out there . He also ended up with brain damage .
Ive never put those two stories together and although they are both probably freak occurrences i'm not going to America again because now i think they mess with your brain !

 

[screenman]

My brother in law went out there on a short business trip 5 years ago, he thought he was fit and healthy, he died on the second day, luckily he was well insured. Only 54 much too young.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

We buy a family worldwide package every year, small cost, mental not to.

 

[Will Spin]

I lived there for a while with my family. My kids were teenagers at the time. One day while out cycling with my youngest daughter we had stopped at a café and she suddenly fainted and collapsed. A well meaning person called an ambulance and we finished up for the rest of the day in a local hospital whilst they ran a few checks on my daughter, happily she was ok. The bill for this little episode, including the cost of the ambulance came to about $5,000. Fortunately our insurance paid all but the $300 excess. Don't even think of going there without cover unless you are prepared to sell your house.

 

[screenman]

[QUOTE 4741544, member: 9609"]I have heard so many stories like this, if an insurer can get out of paying they will, and from what I read from a policy the last time I was on holiday (03?) they could get out of paying if you had had a drink, loads of other stuff in the small print that made me feel I wasn't really covered. Insurers are on par with bankers.[/QUOTE]

I have never had a problem with any claim I have ever made, I have read many stories of people making dodgy claims.

 

[NorthernDave]

[QUOTE 4741544, member: 9609"]I have heard so many stories like this, if an insurer can get out of paying they will, and from what I read from a policy the last time I was on holiday (03?) they could get out of paying if you had had a drink, loads of other stuff in the small print that made me feel I wasn't really covered. Insurers are on par with bankers.[/QUOTE]

Respectfully, that's wrong.

https://www.abi.org.uk/News/News-re...rance-claims-success-rates-for-the-first-time